Wishes and More

My Jackie Chan Story

by Nick

My story starts in June 2008. I'm just like every other high school senior, ready to graduate and move on. I've been really tired. I think it's mostly from staying up late. The fatigue gets so hard on me that I start feeling my heart race from just walking, standing up too fast makes me dizzy, and going up a flight of stairs leaves me winded- not good signs for someone who's been an athlete and martial artist since 2005. I scheduled a doctor's appointment and had blood drawn to test for any irregularities. The next day, I got a call telling me to seek immediate medical attention because my blood counts were low. When I say low counts, I mean the doctors were surprised I was still walking. My levels were about one-third of what they should've been. Two weeks worth of tests and blood transfusions later, I was diagnosed with aplastic anemia.

Basically, aplastic anemia occurs when the subject's bone marrow doesn't produce blood with enough quality to sustain the subject's body. I had a severe case, and my blood was so thin it couldn't clot a paper cut. The condition is treatable, and from June 28th to July 5th I was in a hospital bed, taking chemotherapy through a surgically-inserted port in my chest. During that week, I was visited by a representative from Wishes and More, an organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening ailments. She said they could make it possible for me to meet a celebrity. Jackie Chan was one of the first to come to mind. He was a great actor, an action star, has managed to survive all of his own stunts, and I had read his biography for a school project a few years ago. On top of all that, I knew he also did a lot of charity work, and was known to meet with kids in the same predicament I was. Not thinking much of it, I wrote "meeting Jackie Chan" as my number one wish and sent it in.

Fast forward to late March 2009. I've been at college for a semester and a half, still doing treatments on and off. It's been anything but easy, and having to deal with my health hasn't been helping. One night, I'm between calculus and physics homework when I got a call from Wishes and More, telling me my wish had been approved. However, they said he was in China promoting one of his movies, so I would have to fly to Beijing to meet him. They said it would be the last week in April- the week before finals at school. It was the chance of a lifetime, and so I agreed.

A few weeks and several dozen phone calls later, there was more to the Beijing trip than just meeting the legendary Jackie Chan. Wishes and More lined my father and I up with tickets to see his concert at the National Stadium (Bird's Nest), and to attend his fan party the night after. It was decided we would stay there for a week, and were free to visit whatever sites we wanted. It was truly a dream come true. I distinctly remember on the plane ride over, they announced, "Attention please, on board with us today is Nick, who is flying to Beijing to live out his dream of meeting Jackie Chan."

We arrived in Beijing, and it was incredible. We saw the acrobats, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, Tienanmen Square, and the Forbidden City just to name a few. The night finally came to see Jackie perform his concert, and I didn't know what to expect. I knew he had done some singing in his past, but I had no idea what this performance would be like. The Bird's Nest was amazing, and Jackie did a great job planning a setup for his show. There were six large, round platforms circling a big square one. The artists would come out onto a platform and perform, then a group of artists would form on another platform and perform. They rotated which platforms were being used so that everyone in the crowd got to see a performance. When Jackie himself came out, there was an uproar in the crowd. It was a truly great experience to see him under all those lights and with all those performers. Needless to say, the show was spectacular, and Jackie's singing was far better than what I would've guessed. We took some pictures next to the Water Cube and Bird's Nest and then went back to our hotel.

Jackie performs at the concert.

The Bird's Nest Stadium

Jackie performs with Tibetan singing group A Jia.

The next evening, we attended Jackie's fan party. We got to meet with fans from all over. I met people from Russia, a man from Ukraine, a woman from Hong Kong, and several Japanese fans. For someone who hasn't ventured outside of the U.S. and Mexico, meeting these people was an eye-opening experience. Jackie did some additional performances, and brought with him Steve Yoo Suengjun and the New Seven Little Fortunes. They also did their own performances and showed a lot of talent. Jackie also screened a trailer for his new movie, which looks to be as amazing as his others. After the preview, he held an auction. He sold everything from posters signed by him to gift boxes of every movie he's made. After the auction, he let everyone line up for pictures with him.

Nick (right side of photo) takes photos at the fan party.

Jackie and his New Seven Little Fortunes at the party.

After pictures, I stuck around to meet him. We talked about his performance the night before, and how astounding it was. He talked about his next meeting coming up the next morning and how tired he was after all of these shows. I shook his hand, gave him a hug, and we were on our way. On the flight home, the only thing I could think about was how amazing the experience of meeting Jackie Chan was. It was a truly inspiring moment for me as a person to be in the company of someone so great and someone doing so much for the people around him. Jackie not only walks away from the death-defying stunts in his movies, but he also walks the extra mile to give back to the world and his fans. Jackie Chan is an amazing man, and a true inspiration to us all.

Nick talking with Jackie.

Jackie signed a t-shirt and a book for Nick.

© 2009 The JC Group